$51 Million Verdict After Corroded Boiler Pipe Left Two Children With Permanent Brain Damage

In May 2015, TiCourtney McMullen and her two small children were living at Red Bird Trails Apartments in South Dallas when carbon monoxide began seeping into their unit. The source was a boiler exhaust vent pipe in the adjacent mechanical room. The pipe had corroded and partially separated, creating a gap that sent the colorless, odorless gas directly into the walls and ceiling of the apartment. McMullen developed severe headaches. Her toddler son and infant daughter received a far more damaging dose.

Both children suffered permanent brain damage. A carbon monoxide specialist who evaluated them testified that the gas had triggered immune-system attacks on brain tissue, producing injuries that cannot heal. The children exhibited marked developmental delays, difficulty with attention and focus, and an inability to communicate verbally at ages well past when those skills normally develop.

What made the case particularly damning was what the property's own records showed. An inspector had flagged the corroded vent pipe approximately one year before the poisoning. Management at Red Bird Trails and its parent company, Bridgeway Capital, dismissed the finding as cosmetic. No repair was made. Photographic evidence introduced at trial showed the extent of the deterioration and the gap where the pipe had come apart.

The plaintiffs were represented by the law firm of Ted B. Lyon and Associates. Ted Lyon, the veteran trial lawyer and former Texas state senator who now serves as managing partner of Loncar Lyon Jenkins, assigned the case to attorney Richard Mann, who tried it as lead counsel. His team presented nine years of evidence to a Dallas County jury beginning in July 2024. A maintenance worker testified via video that he personally observed the rust and corrosion on the vent well before the incident. Expert testimony tied that neglected corrosion directly to the children's neurological injuries.

After a day and a half of deliberations, the jury returned its verdict on August 13, 2024. It assigned 90 percent of fault to Red Bird Trails Apartments and Bridgeway Capital and 10 percent to Urban Custom Plumbing, a contractor that had performed boiler work. The total award was $51 million, including approximately $30 million for future medical expenses and $9 million in exemplary damages reflecting a finding of gross negligence. Defendants filed appeals at both the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court; those proceedings were pending as of the date this story was published.